Combined rack and drier



Feb. 9, 1954 E. N. JACOBS 2,668,368

COMBINED RACK AND DRIER Filed Dec. 16, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb- 9, 1954 E. N. JACOBS COMBINED RACK AND DRIER Filed Dec. 16, 1952 O4 @d @N UN Patented Feb. 9, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COMBINED RACK AND DRIER Edwin N. Jacobs, Louisville, Ky.

Application December 16, 1952, Serial No. 326,192

2 Claims. (Cl. 34-151) This invention relates to a combined rack and drier for towels, clothes, and similar articles.

It is readily appreciated that while the conventional towel rack, such as is used in the bathroom or kitchen, has means for supporting an article to be dried in an unfolded condition, the conventionally designed rack still does not facilitate the rapid drying of said article. Thus, damp towels, undergarments, hosiery, and similar articles compete for space in the average bathroom, and undesirably litter the towel racks, while being dried.

The main object of the present invention is to accelerate the drying process, thus to permit the article supported upon the rack to be removed more rapidly than is possible at the present time.

Another object of importance is to provide a combined towel rack and drier used for the purpose noted above, which combined rack and drier will, exteriorly, simulate a conventional rack not having the operating characteristics of the present invention.

Another object of importance is to provide a device of the type stated which can be manufactured at relatively low cost, and will comprise a minimum of parts simply arranged in a manner where they will not readily get out of order.

Yet another object is to provide a combined rack and drier which will be adapted to discharge heated, forcibly fed jets of air against the article being dried, the device constituting the invention being so formed as to facilitate addition to the structure of a sterilizing element, should such an element be desired.

Yet another object is to provide a device as stated which can be mounted upon the wall of a bathroom. kitchen, or the like, with as much ease as is presently possible when conventional racks are being mounted, it being necessary only that the invention be electrically coupled to a suitable source of electricity, such as the ordinary house supply.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawings, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a combined rack and drier formed in accordance with the present invention, a wall on which said invention is mounted being illustrated fragmentarily;

Figure 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional 2 view, in which portions are broken away, taken substantially on line 3--3 of Figure l Figure 4 is an enlarged transverse sectional view on line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional View on line 5 5 of Figure 3; and

Figure 6 is a schematic representation of the wiring circuit employed in the invention.

The combined rack and drier constituting the present invention is adapted to be mounted upon the wall W of a kitchen, bathroom, or other room in which it may be desired to dry fabric articles. The device constituting the present in vention, in this connection, includes at one end, the hollow box-like housing designated generally by the reference numeral I, the device having a housing I2 at its other end which is exteriorly configured to match, while being disposed oppositely to, the housing I6.

Extending between and supported by the respective housings are vertically spaced, parallel support bars designated generally by the reference numeral I4.

Considering first the construction of the end housing Ill, said end housing can be fashioned from sheet metal material or the like, and includes a box-like, rectangular receptacle portion i6 having, at one side, an elongated, vertically disposed mounting ange I8 apertured at its opposite ends to receive bolts 2l] or the like, whereby the housing Ill can be secured xedly to the wall W.

The receptacle portion I6 is open, at that side thereof remote from the wall W, and normally closing said opening of the receptacle portion is a cover 22 flanged inwardly at top and bottom as at 24, the flanges 24 being formed with inwardly offset ears 26 (Figure 4) having locking lugs 28 engageable in complementary locking recesses provided in the top and bottom walls of the receptacle portion I6.

It will thus be Seen that the cover 22 is normally gripped by the receptacle portion, but said cover can be readily removed whenever desired, if access to the interior of the receptacle portion is desired or is necessary.

Formed in the cover 22, intermediate its opposite ends, is a plurality of openings Zi, said openings providing air inlet ports, in a manner to be made presently apparent.

Within the receptacle portion it, I provide a dividing partition 32 yhaving ears 3d at its opposite ends, said ears being apertured to receive screws or equivalent fastening elements that extend inwardly from the top and bottom walls of the receptacle portion I6. The partition 3L' is thus secured xedly within the receptacle portion, and divides the interior of the receptacle portion into a motor compartment 36 and a fan compartment 38 (Figure 4).

Within the motor compartment 36 there is mounted an electric motor 40, said motor being equipped with brackets 42 (Figure 5) bolted to the partition 32.

The shaft 44 of the motor extends through a large main air inlet opening 46 formed in the partition 32, medially between the top and bottom ends of the partition.

A fan blade lli) formed from a rectangular, flat piece of metal material is of the paddle type, and has, medially between itS opposite ends, short, parallel slits 50. rlhe portions of the blade adjacent the slits are pressed outwardly in opposite directions to provide offset portions 52 upon the fan blade, the motor shaft extending between and being grippedV by said offset portions.

In Figure 1, there is shown a row of air intake ports 54 formed in the side wall of the re ceptacle portion IS, and communicating with the interior of the motor compartment 35i.

It is thus seen that on operation of the motor dil, air will be drawn inwardly through the ports 54, and will be drawn through the large opening 4S, into the fan blade compartment.

Within the fan compartment 33, the blade '33 rotates within a circular blade chamber, said chamber being deiined, in part, by a chamber Wall 56 fashioned from a piece of sheet metal material, and curved longitudinally. The chamber wall 56 (Figure 3) is secured fixedly at one ,n

end to the inner side wall of the receptacle portion I6, said wall 55 being also secured, along one edge, to the partition 32 if desired,

Diametrically opposite the wall 5t there is provided a complementary chamber wall which is also curved in the direction of its length.

It will be seen that the walls 5t, 53 cooperate to define a circular blade chamber within which the blade 4B rotates, said blade having its ends disposed in closely spaced relation to the respective chamber walls.

In the blade chamber, diametrically opposite outlet openings are provided, one of said open ings being defined by the spacing of the walls 58 away from one another, and being designated by the reference numeral Bil. The other opening is designated by the reference numeral d2, and it may be thus observed that on rotation of the fan blade, air will be directed along the lines shown by the arrows in Figure 3, outwardly through the openings 60, 62.

The air directed through the opening is channeled, by means of a baiiie td, along a pre determined path. The air directed through the opening 62 is also channeled along a predetermined path, by a baille 66 formed as an extension of the chamber wall 58 and disposed diametrically opposite a guide balde 68. The barile 68 is aixed to one end of the wall 55, as shown in Figure 3.

Adjacent the baffle 64 is an electrical resistance unit 10, said unit being disposed in the path of air forced outwardly through the opening 6B. A second resistance unit 'l2 is disposed between the baiiies 6B, 68, so as to be in the path of air directed outwardly from the blade chamber through the opening 62.

Reference will here be had to the construction of the support bars lll. As will be noted, particularly from Figure 3, each bar is formed Cil as an elongated, straight tube 14, each tube 14 being provided with a longitudinal series of outlet openings 16. Each tube 14 is supported at one end by the inner side wall of the receptacle portion i6, in communication with the interior of the fan compartment. The arrangement, as will be noted from Figure 3, is such as to cause air directed outwardly 'through the openings 6U, 62 to be channeled first past the resistance units "ill, 12, where said air will be heated, and then into the adjacent open ends of the tubes 14. The heated, forcibly fed air thus directed into the tubes 'It will pass longitudinally of the tubes, and will pass outwardly in the form of warm jets, through the outlet openings '16. The air forced out of the openings 1S is directed against a fabric article supported upon each tube, thus to dry said article in a minimum amount of time.

The other end housing I2 includes a hollow main portion 78 of rectangular, box-like formation, having an inner side wall formed with vertically spaced openings receiving the adjacent ends of the tubes l, Said ends of the tubes 74 are plugged as at i, so as to cause all air directed into the tubes from the housing lil to be forced outwardly through the ports 76.

Formed upon the hollow main portion 'i8 of the housing l2 is a mounting dange 82 having spaced openings receiving screws Sli or the like, whereby said housing l2 is bolted or otherwise nxedly attached to the supporting wall W.

The housing i2, like the housing it, has a removable cover 8% flanged inwardly at its opposite ends, as at 8%, the flanged ends of the cover being releasably gripped by the main portion 18, through the medium of a detent means such as has been shown at 26, 28 in Figure 4.

The housing i2 is adapted to contain a sterilization means, should such a means be desired as a part of the device. As an illustration of one form of sterilizing means that can conveniently be embodied in the invention, I have shown (Figure 3) an ultra-violet ray bulb 92, which, when illuminated, is adapted to direct its means through a plurality of openings 94 (Figure 1), against the article being dried.

The ultra-violet ray bulb is in circuit with a transformer $6, which is mounted upon the bottom wall of the main portion 18 or housing l2.

At 93, I have illustrated a switch of the timing type. Thus, said switch can be so set as to cause the operation of the fan, and energization of the resistance units, for a predetermined period of time, which time can be selected by the user.

In Figure 6, there is shown a circuit embodied in the invention for the purpose of controlling the operation of the several electrical parts thereof. Said circuit includes leads i053, |02 extending from a suitable source of electricity, such as the ordinary house supply. Lead H10 is in circuit with the timing switch 98, and it may be noted that a main switch could be used in series with or substituted for the timing switch, if desired. The timing switch is adapted to control the flow of electricity to the motor t?, and to the units lll, 12 as well as to the transformer 95 and ultra-violet ray bulb 92. The wiring circuit need not, it is thought, be described in complete detail, since its arrangement will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art.

In use of the invention, it will be apparent that the rack can function as a conventional rack if the user so desires, the timing switch se being, in this event, left in its off position.

If, however, it is desired to hasten the drying of the articles supported upon the tubes 14, the user opens the switch 9S to a selected setting, which setting will depend, of course, upon the wetness of the articles being dried, or upon the heaviness of the fabric of which said articles are composed. In any event, when the timing switch is moved to its on position, the motor will be placed in operation, thus to rotate the ian blade, simultaneously with energizing of the re sistance units "i0, 12.

As a result, air will be drawn inwardly through ports and 39, into the blade compartment, and the air so drawn into the blade compartment will be directed outwardly past the units t, l2. where it will be warmed. The air will then pass into the tubes M, and will be directed in the form or" warm jets against the articles being dried. At the same time, the ultra-violet ray bulb e2 will cast its beams against said articles, so as to sterilize the articles during the drying operation. The bulb 92, of course, can be omitted in some commercial embodiments of the invention.

After the motor and resistance units have operated for the desired period of time, the switch 98 will shift to its ofi position, so as to effect a cessation of the operation of the motor and of the resistance units, without the necessity of special attention on the part of the user.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

N ad

What is claimed is:

1. A combined rack and drier for towels and like articles, comprising: a pair of paraiiel, tubular support bars for articles to be dried, each of bars having a longit dinal series or perforations, said perforations ci' the respective bars dening air outlet openings 'through which air can be directed against articles supported on the bars; housings secured to the opposite ends of respective bars, one of said housings having a substantially circular fan blade chamber therein formed with diametrically opposite openings communicating with the respective support bars; a blade in the chamber arranged for forcing air through said openings; and resistance elements disposed in the path 0I" air forced from said openings into the bars.

2. A combined rack and drier for towels and like articles comprising a pair of parallel tubular support bars for articles to be dried, each of said bars having a plurality of perorations extending therealong, said perforations of the respective bars defining air outlet openings through which air can be directed against articles supported on the bars, housings secured to the opposite ends of the respective bars, one of said housings having a fan blade chamber therein formed with openings communicating with the respective support bars, a blade in the chamber arranged for forcing air through said openings, and heating elements disposed in the path of air forced from said openings into the bars.

EDWIN N. JACOBS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 758,451 Judelson s Apr. 26, 1904 1,047,958 Lofquist Dec. 24, 1912 1,853,606 Davis Apr. 12, 1932 2,567,434 Hoskings Sept. 11, 1951 

